Is It True That Wine And Other Alcohol Help Digestion?

There is a myth that a glass of red wine before a meal is good for digestion. This is supposedly one of the reasons why the French are so slim despite eating a lot of flour.

Why Alcohol Is Considered Good for Digestion

When alcohol gets into the stomach, it irritates the walls of the organ. Because of this, the mucous membranes begin to produce more digestive juice. Some people think that the process is beneficial: food is supposedly digested faster, and nutrients from it are absorbed in greater quantities.

Also, those who like to have a glass of alcohol before a meal periodically turn to a small British study from 2019. In it, scientists noted that red wine improves intestinal health. It is assumed that it does this due to polyphenols , which have antimicrobial properties and can potentially have a beneficial effect on the human intestinal microbiota.

How Alcohol Really Affects Digestion

Alcohol can stop the digestion process, depriving the body of vital vitamins and minerals. If you abuse alcohol, it can lead to a deficiency of essential substances.

The excess digestive juice that alcohol causes is not actually beneficial. It can even cause unpleasant symptoms, including:

• heartburn,
• sour taste in the mouth,
• bad breath,
• recurring cough or hiccups,
• hoarse voice,
• bloating,
• nausea,
• diarrhea .
  

  Over time, the stomach irritation that alcohol causes can lead to gastritis, an inflammation of the mucous membranes, as well as ulcers and bleeding.

  Alcohol is harmful to the liver. Chronic drinking leads to obesity of the organ. This condition makes the liver more vulnerable to dangerous inflammation – alcoholic hepatitis. If you continue to drink alcohol, fibrous tissue will begin to grow. Because of this, the blood supply to the liver cells will be disrupted, they will begin to die and be replaced by scars. As a result, cirrhosis will appear, which can lead to liver failure.

  Alcohol also affects the pancreas. Normally, the organ sends enzymes necessary for metabolism to the small intestine. But alcohol disrupts this process: the gland activates enzymes prematurely and secretes them inside itself. These substances are harmful to the organ. If you drink alcohol constantly, the disruption of the processes will lead to pancreatitis – a dangerous inflammation. It manifests itself as pain in the upper abdomen, which can radiate to the back, intensify after eating and be accompanied by nausea or vomiting.

  The story with the study on the benefits of alcohol is this: red wine does have a slight positive effect on intestinal microflora , but the scientists themselves say that the data is limited. For example, only 916 women took part in the study. The amount of alcohol consumed was recorded by the subjects themselves, not by specialists. This means that the participants could underestimate or overestimate the volume. In addition, the experiment was conducted without blinding the groups and placebo control. This means that all subjects knew what they were drinking, and no one received a “placebo” instead of alcohol. The authors of the study note that this is a drawback. But it is most likely impossible to conduct an experiment according to the gold standard.

  The results of the study cannot be generalized to all alcohol. During the experiments, the specialists tried to compare how different drinks affect the work of the intestines. And they found out that there is no benefit from cider, beer, white wine and strong drinks. Only red wine has a possible positive effect .

  More research is needed to confirm the study’s findings. But even if they point to red wine’s benefits for gut health, it’s not clear that the benefits will outweigh any side effects alcohol has on a person’s health.

  How much alcohol can you drink without harming your health?

  Not at all. Experts from the World Health Organization say there is no safe dose of alcohol. The risks of illness or injury associated with alcohol increase after the first drop, and the more you drink, the more they increase.

  On this issue, the Russian Ministry of Health is in solidarity with its foreign colleagues.

  Excessive alcohol consumption can be considered when a man drinks more than 5 drinks a day or 15 drinks a week, and a woman drinks more than 4 drinks a day or 8 drinks a week.

  A serving is 14 grams of pure alcohol. This amount is found in the following drinks:

  • 350 ml of beer with a strength of 5%;
  • 230 ml of beer with a strength of 7%;
  • 150 ml of wine with a strength of 12%;
  • 50 ml of strong alcohol or distilled drinks with a strength of 40% – brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka or whiskey.

  How to reduce risks if you still want to drink

  If it is difficult to give up alcohol completely, it is better to reduce its consumption.
  You can follow the recommendations of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They advise men to limit themselves to two servings of alcohol per day, and women to one.

  You can also try life hacks from experts at the Cleveland Clinic. They suggest swapping glasses for smaller ones to trick your brain.

  Experts also advise diluting alcohol with water – this way the volume of the drink will be preserved, and there will be less alcohol in it. Or you can alternately sip from a glass with a cocktail and a glass of water.